Sunday, June 18, 2017

States of Mind

By Sharon May

Kurt Vonnegut said,
“You cannot be a good writer of serious fiction if you are not depressed.”

The main problem I have
with this statement is that it reinforces the stereotype of the crazy artist
who locks himself away from society in the name of art. It is a stereotype that
many societies use to keep the writer at bay, out of the mainstream. Maybe
there is a hint of madness in all of us as we respond to what drives us to
write but to say only those who are depressed can produce serious and good works
is extreme and just not true.

Second, what is “serious
fiction?” I assume that Vonnegut is referring to what we now call literary
fiction. By his standards, I’m sure that lots of genre fiction would be
automatically be labeled as not serious. But all genres have works so well written
they stand out from the crowd and are serious.

Third, does Vonnegut mean that
one has to be depressed at the time of writing the fictional work, or simply be
subject to depressive states of mind? Usually part of the definition of
depression is a time period in which the person is usually not functioning well
and probably is not capable of writing any fiction, serious or not. I think all
writers have emotional struggles that give them opportunities to contemplate
themselves and the society. These struggles do not have to lead to depression
for one to be a serious writer.

Yes, we have Styron,
Kafka, Woolf, Rowling, Fitzgerald, Faulkner, Capote, and Baldwin as examples of
writers with depressive personalities who produced serious fiction. But we
could list even more writers who have never been depressed.

I am bipolar and have
found during depressed moods that I am not productive enough to write anything,
good or bad. I may be able to think about writing, but I can’t find the energy
to put fingers to keyboard. Maybe others who are depressed can put words on a
page. I just know I’m not one of them. But I am capable of writing when in a
manic state, reams and reams very quickly. Unfortunately, quality is not in
those reams even though they do provide good ideas to work on later. Only when
I’m stable can I consistently produce words on paper that would be considered
good.

Emotions can lead to a
particular state of mind that can cause problems for the writer. Hopefully, you
do not have to inhabit Vonnegut’s world as you write. Regardless of your state
of mind, pay attention to your emotional struggles and observe those of others
so you can learn about human nature, which will lead to interesting characters,
dialogue, conflicts, and thus good writing.

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CONTACT US

For more information about the Columbia II Writers' Workshop, a chapter of the South Carolina Writers Association, contact Ginny Padgett at ginnypadgett@att.net.

CALENDAR

Workshop - Monday, December 18 at 5:30

Workshop - TUESDAY, January 2 at 5:30

Workshop - Monday, January 15 at 5:30

WHO WE ARE

We are a diverse group of people who work in diverse genres. Our group embraces all levels of writers. We're a chapter of South Carolina Writers Association (www.myscwa.org) and comply with the organization's by-laws. We are grateful to Turning Pages, Greater Columbia Literacy Councilfor providing us meeting space.

HOW WE WORKSHOP

Bring about 12 copies of the work you want critiqued -- stories, poems, nonfiction (or come just to listen and critique).

Keep prose to 6 pages double-spaced,12 pt. type; up to 2 poems.

Read your work out loud.

Listen silently while members of the group make comments, ask questions, offer critique, mark up copies of your work.

After everyone's critique, you can answer the questions and ask some of your own.

Everyone hands you back their marked up copies.

It's up to you to decide which, if any, suggestions or revisions you adopt.

Visitors are welcome. Just show up and find an empty seat.

We ask that on your first visit you not read, but you are invited to fully participate in e very other way.

JOIN US

We meet in the offices ofGreater Columbia Literacy Councilin the lower level of